Bridgeport mayor arrested on federal drug charges

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The mayor of Bridgeport was arrested Tuesday after being indicted on federal drug charges alleging he illegally distributed more than 11,000 prescription painkiller pills in the last three years.

Mario Blount, 51, a pharmacist at Best Care Pharmacy, was charged in a federal indictment with distributing painkillers to those who ha dno medical need for them.

The indictment charged him with conspiracy to possess and distribute Schedule II controlled substances, distributing oxycodone and failing to report the filing of a prescription.

The federal indictment, filed May 28 and unsealed Tuesday, also charged two others — Angela Davis, 50, of Bridgeport, and her daughter, April Davis, 23, of Marietta, Ga. Both are charged with conspiring with Blount through the last three years to possess and distribute prescription painkillers.

The indictment alleges on July 6, 2013, Blount distributed oxycodone outside the scope of his practice and intentionally omitted information from a report he was required to make.

Angela Davis was charged with attempting to fraudulently obtain controlled substances and with attempted distribution of oxycodone. Prosecutors say she

mailed the drugs to Aril Davis in Georgia.

Blount faces up to 20 years in prison for his first two charges and up to four years on the failure to report a prescription charge, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia William Ihlenfeld’s office.

The Davises could each face up to 20 years in prison, the news release states.

In the news release, Karl C. Colder, special agent from the Washington, D.C., division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Blount illegally dispensed more than 11,000 oxycodone and oxymorphone pills in the last three years. Colder said the arrests are the result of a 10-month investigation. “Mr. Blount abused the trust of the citizens of Bridgeport and the customers at Best Care Pharmacy,” Colder said in the release.

“These arrests serve as a warning that the illicit distribution of controlled substances will not be tolerated in Harrison County.”

The arrests follow raids of Blount’s pharmacies in Bridgeport, Belington, Lumberport and Weston by the DEA and the Greater Harrison Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force in October 2013, the Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram reported. The paper reported DEA agents were seen taking boxes of evidence and going through pill bottles at the Bridgeport store.

Blount became mayor on July 1, 2013. He was the city’s recorder for the previous six years.